1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with comminuting or disintegrating systems, and in particular with a two-staged, closed loop comminuting and dehydrating system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices for comminuting and dehydrating are well known. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,132 issued to the applicant""s assignee on Aug. 17, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,979 issued to the applicant""s assignee on Feb. 4, 1997, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. Such prior art comminuting and dehydrating devices comprise a cyclone chamber mounted atop a conical body, an adjustable coaxial sleeve for introducing material to be processed, a damper for reducing air flow through the sleeve, and a blower. A feeder unit is interposed between the blower and the chamber, and material may also be introduced into the chamber through the coaxial sleeve. Processed material may be deposited on a conveyor, pneumatic conveyance system, or collected in an open bin. Such cyclonic comminution devices are suitable for processing materials such as minerals, plants, food products, recyclable materials, and soil.
They may be employed for pulverizing and separating ores such as gold, silver, copper, kaolin and which are recovered from rock formations presenting a different density or structure than the ore. They may also be employed to pulverize and dehydrate materials such as gypsum, fly ash, foundry shag, coal, coke, phosphates and residual products of refining and distillation processes, including animal shells and crustaceans as well as bones, diatomaceous earth and soil structures. They may be employed to pulverize, dehydrate, and preserve food products such as grain, and grain components such as gluten and for fractionalization of the starch protein matrix, as well as for enhancement of lipid or fiber content for further processing or defatting. They may be employed for fragmentation and dehydration of fibrous foods such as carrots, apples, beans, and spinach and for pulverization and dehydration of lignocellulosic biomass materials such as trees, seaweed, straw, peat moss, waste paper and animal wastes. Such cyclonic comminuter dehydrator units may also be employed in recycling for pulverizing glass, metals, plastic and organic materials so that such components may be mechanically sorted and separated. The units may also be used to pulverize and dehydrate soil and to separate it from rock, ash, boron, hydrocarbons and other contaminants, either alone or in conjunction with washing, thermal, biological, or other treatment processes.
However, prior art comminuter dehydrator systems and methods have not been particularly suitable for processing viscid materials such as soil contaminated by petroleum or other chemical spills or animal wastes. Such systems and methods have also not been particularly suitable for delivering particles of a predetermined size and selected moisture content or for preparing uniform homogenous mixtures with consistent predetermined moisture levels.
The present invention overcomes the problems previously outlined and provides a greatly improved two-stage comminuting and dehydrating system which is efficient, environmentally sound, and which is particularly well adapted for processing liquid or viscid materials to achieve a predetermined particle size and moisture content.
The system includes a pair of cyclone devices for comminuting and dehydrating. Injection ports are positioned for injection of viscid substances directly into the low pressure region of each cone. The secondary cyclone is equipped with a lower exit port. A single blower is coupled with the cyclone structures to form an air flow loop from the primary cone bottom to the secondary cone top and from the secondary cone top to the primary cone top. Airflow for cycling material between the cones is controlled by feedback from moisture and particle size monitoring devices in a collection unit coupled with the secondary cone.
Objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.
The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.